This year, I knitted 21 pairs of gloves and mittens, 16 sweaters, 20 pairs of socks, 7 shawls, 12 caps and7 bags. I used over 16 700 grams (over 36 bls) of yarn. I learned a lot this year, but I still have so much to learn! I won't make any promises for 2008, except that I will learn a new technique. :)

I did finish the table runner in time, and it turned out to be perfect:

Mie sain kuin sainkin liinan valmiiksi juuri sopivasti juhlapöytään. Ja siitä tuli oikein hyvä:It is very pretty, and would work well as a shawl, too.

Malli toimisi aika kivasti myös huivina. (Pois se kuitenkin minusta, että liinaan verhoutuisin.)For this, I used Rose Leaf Design from Marianne Kinzel's First Book of Modern Lace Knitting. I used provisional cast-on, and knitted parts A, B and C (of part A I used only the last two rows, I think). After casting off, I removed the provisional cast-on and repeated the same thing for the second half, and it turned out very nice. You can't even see where the provisional cast-on (and the middle of the runner) was. I was very happy with the runner and it looks beautiful on our table.

After all the cooking, I concentrated on a pair of socks, and despite some problems (some were my faults, and I managed to snap the cable in my needle), they turned out to be one of the greatest pairs I've ever knitted. There are some visible mistakes, and the design might not be very sophisticated, but they are very warm. I like them a lot and they are exactly what I wanted. I wanted to knit some minicables, but didn't want to use fingering weight yarn (because I needed the socks now, not 2035), and luckily I had some left-over Telemark which was perfect. Also, the cuff is fairly short, as these are almost like slippers: something cozy and warm you can wear when watching your favorite Christmas movie, drinking hot chocolate and knitting something pretty.

I meant to post the pattern for these on Christmas Eve as a Christmas gift to all my readers, but I am still tweaking the charts, so you'll have to be patient. Maybe I'll have it ready by New Year's, then it'll be a New Year's gift to you ;) I'll let you know when it is available. Meanwhile, enjoy your week!

My tablerunner is coming along nicely! I chose this pattern from Marianne Kinzel's First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, and I was amazed at how quickly it knits. I've already knitted half of it, and I should be able to finish the runner well ahead. I intend to decorate our Christmas table with white, grey, platinum and brown, and since we have a very small table, this and some candles will be the main decoration. I hope it'll be a pretty table, so far the runner looks nice.

I blocked this first half to see how long it is and how much yarn I have used. I only have 3,5 oz of mystery yarn, so it'll have to do. Half-way through, it measures roughly 19,5" x 40 " and exactly 1,75 oz so I should get a good-sized runner in the end, even if I make the center a little bit shorter in the second half. Can't wait to finish this one!

The Cave has been silent for a while, and I figured out a reason for it only this week: karma. In July and August and September I finished a lot of very nice, well-fitting garments, and apparently all my good luck was spent on them, so these past 3 months I've spent knitting either very basic, boring projects, or casting on for some complex ones, only to find out after days of knitting I would have to rip everything. I obviously used all good karma and juju and whatever you might call it on those knits in the summer, so I guess now I have to wait for the good luck to come back to me.

Some signs of the luck returning are in the air. My adventures in the land of knitting are over and I'm back in the "10 sts per inch" ballpark I feel most comfortable in. Although, these mittens gave me a lot of headache. I had to knit and reknit them twice, mainly because the first idea didn't quite work and then the mittens would've been too long. Now, they are close to perfection, though.

I call these Hansa Mittens. For some reason, they reminded me greatly of the Hanseatic League and the tradesmen in the Late Middle Ages. I like them a lot, mainly because they fit my huge hands well, they're very warm and I like the colors a lot. I used KnitPicks Palette for these, in White and Iris Heather. That Iris Heather looked dull before using it in stranded knitting, but somehow the white brings out all the nice shades in the heathered yarn. I am not entirely happy with the thumb, it certainly isn't the most sophisticated construction, but I couldn't figure out how to make it any better. And I decided not to look at my thumbs too much.

Apart from these, I haven't been knitting much. There's the occasional pair of socks, and a Christmas table runner, but both are not worth showing yet, unless you are interested in an odd lump of sexy oatmeal colored yarn. I hope to finish both before Christmas, since all my holiday knitting is done and I don't have to stress over anything anymore. Expect the food. And DH's gift. And aunt's gift. And cousins' gifts. And...

DH took another picture, which shows the details a little bit better. I added sleeves, modified the neckline slightly, added short rows in the front for better fit and added a lot of length. My skills in making fitting garments are poor even at their best so I can be rather pleased with this project.I am a little bit worried about the future of the garment, though. I used bamboo yarn for this and it will stretch out of shape eventually. Also, I am not entirely happy with the neckline, which means I will use this mainly with jackets, and I won't use it for very long. I might re-knit this, though, I find it pretty and feminine.

I also finished a wrap for DH's Christmas party. I used Erdal Clouds mohair blend and #11 needles and Lattice Lace Wrap pattern (with only 1 chart B repeat) and I ended up with a generously sized (30" x 75") shawl. (As for the Cloud Bolero, it's dead. It went horribly wrong and I ended up tossing the whole thing, as the Patons Divine yarn is absolutely impossible to frog.)

And then the mittens. First, Chevalier Mittens by Tikru, using Wool-Ease and #5 needles. I was knitting these on our trip, and finished them when we got home. I modified the top of the mitten slightly, and I like these a lot. These'll be a Christmas gift, and I think I might need to reknit these for myself - they are very pretty!

Finally, I noticed something astonishing: the hit counter is about to hit 200,000 visits very, very soon! Amazing! I want to thank all of my readers, your feedback means so much to me. I hope you will enjoy my blog in the future, too!